Much has been made of the highly publicized series of recent violent attacks on public transit in Los Angeles, with many calling for an increased law enforcement presence on buses and trains and in Metro stations.
While Metro officials have authorized a surge of law enforcement, the Los Angeles Times reports that the issue may not be only the number of officers, but also how “lax” their patrols are.
In February, a dead man remained “slumped over on a bench at Metro’s San Pedro Street station” for nearly six hours, despite the presence of five Los Angeles Police Department officers who patrolled that platform, the Times reports.
Gina Osborn, the former security chief for Metro, told the Times the body wasn’t noticed until a transit ambassador performed a welfare check.
“[The officers] weren’t even paying attention,” she told the Times. “They weren’t engaged enough to see that there was a human hunched over.”
Osborn was fired in March after reporting what she described as failures by contracted law enforcement agencies like the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to properly patrol Metro stations.
Attorneys for Los Angeles County disputed Osborn’s characterization in a statement.
“The claim made by Metro’s former Chief Safety Officer Gina Osborn, that Metro unlawfully terminated her employment in retaliation for a complaint she filed, was thoroughly investigated by an independent investigator,” county counsel said. “The investigation concluded that Ms. Osborn’s allegations were not supported by the facts. The Office of County Counsel feels very strongly about Metro’s ability to prove its case in court.”
While Osborn believes the officers should be doing more, Donald Graham, deputy chief of the LAPD’s Transit Services Bureau, told the Times that an internal investigation revealed the officers “had been doing their job that day,” as they were present to “check that train riders were carrying their Tap cards to pay fares.”
“There’s always room for improvement,” Graham told the Times. “We will always continue to look and relook at what we’re doing and question whether or not what we’re doing is the best way to do things.”
Sheriff’s Department and LBPD representatives also issued statements saying they are working to ensure the public transit system remains safe in accordance with their contracts with Metro.